For this assignment you will analyze an article from the public health literature from a research design perspective. You will be reading an analyzing the article to practice applying what we have learned about study design, and the application of epidemiologic studies to practice. The focus of this assignment is more on the design processes of the study (how it was done) so you will be reading and discussing the article in a very different way than you are probably accustomed to.

INSTRUCTIONS

Read the article at least once all the way through before you begin to write anything. Then on your 2nd read, begin your analysis of the study design elements and answer the following questions. Number your paper according to the question numbers below and answer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES.

[Questions worth 1 pt. unless otherwise noted]

1. In two or three sentences, describe what is already known about this topic and why the researchers pursued this line of inquiry.

2. What specific research question is the author(s) trying to answer? 3. What is the study population?

4. What is the study sample and how was the sample selected/recruited? [remember a sample is taken from the population]

5. What was the sample size [number of participants included in the study]?

6. Describe the specific demographic characteristics of the study sample (gender, age, race, etc.)

7. Describe any methods used to protect human subjects during this study.

8. What study design was used by the researchers.

For this study, multiple data sources were used to gather the information needed. In your response discuss:

9. What data source(s) were used and how was the data collected?

10. What exclusion criteria was used to eliminate erroneous or biased data?

11. The authors describe several limitations (shortcomings) of the study. Describe at least 3 of them. [3pts]

12. Summarize and describe at least 4 major findings of the study. [4pts]

a. Discuss the results including presentation of both frequency data and rates. [I want to see a discussion of the actual data not just a statement like "the rate was higher in males"]

b. Include discussion of this data based on the various demographic characteristics or other research variables. (e.g. age, race, gender, type of infection, type of test result etc.)

13. Finally, in your own words, discuss what you see as the potential implications of this study from a public health practice or health policy perspective. What specific actions could be implemented based on the findings from this study? I'm looking for a critical analysis/reflection of these findings. [3pts]

LINK:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3780747/